A wide variety of media can be used in learning, including distance learning, such as print, lectures, conference sections, tutors, pictures, video, sound, and computers. Any one instance of distance learning will make choices among these media, perhaps using several.

Multimedia in Learning

by J. Biggs and C. Tang, Maidenhead, England,
Open University Press, 2007, 360 pp., £29.99, ISBN-13: 978-0-335-22126-4

Teaching for quality learning at university

▶ Addresses the accessibility, usability, and, ultimately, acceptability of Information Society Technologies by anyone, anywhere, at anytime, and through any media and device. ▶ Focuses on theoretical, methodological, and empirical research, of both technological and non-technological nature. ▶ Features papers that report on theories, methods, tools, empirical results, reviews, case studies, and best-practice examples.

Universal access in the information society

The extent to which teachers adopt technology in their teaching practice has long been in the focus of research. Indeed, a plethora of models exist explaining influential factors and mechanisms of technology use in classrooms, one of which—the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and versions thereof—has dominated the field. Although consensus exists about which factors in the TAM might predict teachers’ technology adoption, the current field abounds in some controversies and inconsistent findings. This meta-analysis seeks to clarify some of these issues by combining meta-analysis with structural equation modeling approaches. Specifically, we synthesized 124 correlation matrices from 114 empirical TAM studies (N = 34,357 teachers) and tested the fit of the TAM and its versions. Overall, the TAM explains technology acceptance well; yet, the role of certain key constructs and the importance of external variables contrast some existing beliefs about the TAM. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

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The technology acceptance model (TAM): A meta-analytic structural equation modeling approach to explaining teachers’ adoption of digital technology in education

The Origins of Intelligence in Children

With the ever-increasing development of technology and its integration into users' private and professional life, a decision regarding its acceptance or rejection still remains an open question. A respectable amount of work dealing with the technology acceptance model (TAM), from its first appearance more than a quarter of a century ago, clearly indicates a popularity of the model in the field of technology acceptance. Originated in the psychological theory of reasoned action and theory of planned behavior, TAM has evolved to become a key model in understanding predictors of human behavior toward potential acceptance or rejection of the technology. The main aim of the paper is to provide an up-to-date, well-researched resource of past and current references to TAM-related literature and to identify possible directions for future TAM research. The paper presents a comprehensive concept-centric literature review of the TAM, from 1986 onwards. According to a designed methodology, 85 scientific publications have been selected and classified according to their aim and content into three categories such as (i) TAM literature reviews, (ii) development and extension of TAM, and (iii) modification and application of TAM. Despite a continuous progress in revealing new factors with significant influence on TAM's core variables, there are still many unexplored areas of model potential application that could contribute to its predictive validity. Consequently, four possible future directions for TAM research based on the conducted literature review and analysis are identified and presented.

Technology acceptance model: a literature review from 1986 to 2013

A respectable amount of work dealing with Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) clearly indicates a popularity of TAM in the field of technology acceptance in general. Nevertheless, there is still a gap in existing knowledge regarding representative academic literature that underlie research on TAM in educational context. The main objective of this systematic literature review is to provide an overview of the current state of research efforts on TAM application in the field of learning and teaching for a variety of learning domains, learning technologies and types of users. Through systematic search by the use of EBSCO Discovery Service, the review has identified 71 relevant studies ranged between 2003 and 2018. The main findings indicate that TAM and its many different versions represent a credible model for facilitating assessment of diverse learning technologies. TAM's core variables, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, have been proven to be antecedent factors affecting acceptance of learning with technology. The paper identifies some gaps in current work and suggests areas for further investigation. The results of this systematic review provide a better understanding of TAM acceptance studies in educational context and create a firm foundation for advancing knowledge in the field. Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic Technology acceptance research in teaching and learning context has become an attractive trend.A number of reviews and meta‐analysis focused on specific topics related to technology acceptance in education have been conducted.The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is the key model in understanding predictors of human behaviour towards potential acceptance or rejection of the technology.What this paper adds The state of current research on Technology Acceptance Model application in educational context lacks comprehensive reviews addressing variety of learning domains, learning technologies and types of users.The paper presents systematic review of relevant academic literature on Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in the field of learning and teaching.The paper provides empirical evidence on the predictive validity of the models based on TAM presented in selected literature.The findings revealed that TAM, along with its many different versions called TAM++, is a leading scientific paradigm and credible model for facilitating assessment of diverse technological deployments in educational context.TAM's core variables, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, have been proven to be antecedent factors that have affected acceptance of learning with technology.Implications for practice and/or policy The systematic review adds to the body of knowledge and creates a firm foundation for advancing knowledge in the field.By following the most common research objectives and/or by filling current gaps in applied research methods, chosen sample groups and types of result analysis, an own study could be conducted.Future research may well focus on identifying additional external factors that could further explain acceptance and usage of various learning technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] uracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Technology acceptance model in educational context: A systematic literature review

The aim of this paper was to design and assess a comprehensive model for managing the e-learning process and to define the relationship between systematic implementation of the model, outcomes of certain e-learning aspects and subject of e-learning. The validation of the model was performed by using two questionnaires sent via e-mail to teachers and field experts from the chosen sample of 14 European schools participating in an EU-funded project. Research results imply the existence of a clear link between planning and controlling of the e-learning process and its learning outcomes. On the other hand, no empirical relationship between the e-learning outcomes and the subject of learning has been established. It is believed that the model and its practical implications can be used by institutions engaged in e-learning, or as a process model for introducing e-learning related activities.

e-Learning process management and the e-learning performance: Results of a European empirical study

This study brings an evidence-based review of user individual characteristics employed as sources of adaptation in recent adaptive learning systems. Twenty-two user individual characteristics were explored in a systematically designed search procedure, while 17 of them were identified as sources of adaptation in final selection. The content analysis of 98 selected publications that include evidence of adaptation efficiency is conducted. The quantitative representation of the findings shows current trends in the research of individual differences, as well as the tendencies of their further employment in student modeling. The article contributes to the body of knowledge on user individual differences and consequently to the research and development of adaptive learning systems. Additional contribution of the study is in-depth description of development and evaluation of the search strategy which *This article describes the results of research carried out within projects 177-0361994-1998 Usability and Adaptivity of Interfaces for Intelligent Authoring Shells and 036-0361994-1995 Universal Middleware Platform for Intelligent e-Learning Systems funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of Croatia.

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Anatomy of student models in adaptive learning systems : A systematic literature review of individual differences from 2001 to 2013

Introduction In the context of the inclusive knowledge society, the role of system interfaces that are more closely tailored to the way people naturally work, live and acquire knowledge is unquestionably recognized as important. In addition, the need for active and accessible learning promotes only the e-learning that engages the users effectively. Nevertheless, despite so much publicity and activity, the progress in the field of e-learning has been relatively slow until recently, when problems were often associated with poor designed e-learning applications cf. (SIGCHI, 2001; Granic, 2008). It seems that too much of the research has been driven by technical possibilities, while paying inadequate attention to the area of application. This issue has been ignored for some time, in the hope that new technologies will somehow resolve the lack of real progress. However, to efficiently communicate the contents and improve the learning experience, interaction mechanisms merit particular consideration. Usability studies in the e-learning field are not very frequent despite the important role that usability plays in the success of every e-learning system. If the interface is not transparent and easy to use, the learners/students concentrate on interaction aspects and not on acquiring content. In addition, it has been claimed that usability assessment needs further consideration of the learning perspective. Namely, the approaches to e-learning usability range from those adapted to e-learning to those applying heuristics without special adjustment to the educational context. Accordingly, as an established set of heuristics and a joint evaluation methodology for e-learning systems do not exist yet, there is obviously a need for further research and empirical evaluation. The paper reports on a case study of an e-learning platform implemented in the network of fourteen European schools. The contribution of this paper is two-fold. First, it critically examines the usability of a large-scale e-learning system across several countries in Europe. The second contribution of the paper is providing some general findings and lessons learned from the experience. Usability testing, which integrated six empirical methods into a laboratory-based test, was complemented with heuristic inspections. Interface compliance with Nielsen's (1994) traditional principles was enhanced with experts' judgment of the system's "educational evaluation" by means of three sets of criteria: Learning with software heuristics (Squires & Preece, 1999), Educational design heuristics (Quinn, 1996) and Pedagogical dimensions (Reeves, 1994). We expect that this contribution with its general findings and know-how from the experience will facilitate the understanding on how to evaluate and improve the usability of e-learning systems based on users' (learners'/students' and teachers') and experts' feedback. Since there are limited studies in the field, this contribution adds to the body of knowledge. Related Work Research in the human-computer interaction (HCI) field has provided numerous principles and guidelines that can steer designers in making their decisions. Although applying good design guidelines alone is a good start, it is no substitute for system usability evaluation. In general, usability is context-dependent and is shaped by the interaction between users, tasks and system purpose. A variety of usability evaluation methods have been developed over the past few decades and most are grouped into usability test methods, user-based involving end-users, and inspection methods engaging HCI experts. Research studies involving different kinds of applications, different user groups and evaluation techniques have been conducted and the need for combining the methods is well understood in the usability field; see e.g., Sears & Jacko (2008). To analyze usability of interaction mechanisms of e-learning systems, more or less standard assessments and studies have been carried out. …

Andrina Granić

Papers

Technology acceptance model: a literature review from 1986 to 2013

Technology acceptance model in educational context: A systematic literature review

e-Learning process management and the e-learning performance: Results of a European empirical study

Anatomy of student models in adaptive learning systems : A systematic literature review of individual differences from 2001 to 2013

Usability Testing and Expert Inspections Complemented by Educational Evaluation: A Case Study of an e-Learning Platform